Was your recovery easier with the vbac or c-section?
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Commenting so I remember to come back after work and respond. The short answer is vbac was easier
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I did not but my BFF did. Initially sue was surprised how sore and achy she was post VBAC. She had it in her head that VBAC would be so much easier than her section and expected to be up and about right away. After a few days she said it was clearly easier than csection recovery, but still you need to rest and give yourself time
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Yes VBAC was easier by a lot. (No complications with either delivery).
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I am a lurker but wanted to share my experience. Two years ago I had a c-section after 24+ hours of labor and pushing for 3 hours. I also had a VBAC this May that resulted in a second degree tear. I found that my VBAC recovery was so much easier than my c-section. I will say that I believe my c-section recovery was much tougher than a planned section or one that occurred after less time in labor because I was really fatigued and had a lot of soreness from pushing. Even with the tear, my VBAC was hands down easier. We left the hospital sooner, I had an easier time walking and moving in general, and I think I was totally running on birth hormones for the first few days afterwards (I always thought this was a myth!). I also had a 2.5 year old at home, and I feel like the easier recovery allowed me to interact with him pretty easily compared to what would have happened with a c-section recovery.
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No question, my vbac recovery was amazing. I felt great physically and was up and about within 20 minutes. Not having heavy pain meds was amazing also. And I was alone in the hospital for 2 nights and just getting up and using the bathroom and breastfeeding and holding baby were all awesome experiences that I did not have the first time.
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@Baby Boy Mom: @MrsBooks: @shortcake: Did you have an epidural?
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I did have an epidural. I was induced at 40 + 2 bc my doctor didn't want me to go too far past my due date. So they broke my water, contractions started immediately and I had contractions for a few hours. Our approach with labor was just to see how each step was progressing and I was making great progress on my own. Got an epidural a few hours into it and then a very small dose of pitocin and baby came a few hours later. I am happy to answer more questions about my vbac if you have any. My OB was just awesome with letting it happen on its own and monitoring me closely after they broke my water. It was incredible. And I was certainly fine with having a repeat c if that's what was needed. But I was so happy we went for it and she supported it.
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I didn't have an epidural. I had a doula and did Hypnobirthing based on the book. I was pretty lazy about doing the exercises when I was pregnant though
My water broke two days before my due date and after a few hours of inconsistent contractions, they started me on the lowest dose of Pitocin, which got the party going, and my daughter was here about five hours later.
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My VBAC recovery was amazing! I only pushed for 10-15 minutes, no tearing, and had an 8lb 4oz baby. I had an epidural when I got to 7cm and my water didn't break until I was 9cm. I felt amazing after the initial "shakes" wore off, like after 20 minutes.
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These responses are so encouraging!
@shortcake: If you don't mind answering, was your body already doing something (like dilated partially) when you were induced?
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@mrsblue: I think I was 3 cm dilated the week before and between a 3 and a 4 the morning I went in. My OB thought breaking my water couldn't hurt bc if it didn't work I would just go to surgery. She was willing to give me a few hours to see what would happen and it really started on its own as soon as they broke my water.
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@shortcake: thanks! My OB said he's fine with doing things like breaking my water and using conservative doses of Pitocin, but that my body would need to be doing something already.
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@mrsblue: yes same here. She didn't want things moving to quickly or too slowly. And she would not have given me pitocin if I was not having contractions on my own. Good luck! I have to add that I was not one of those woman who really wanted to experience a vaginal delivery but I do happy I got to experience it in the end.
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@Mrs. Lion: I did not have an epidural. I actually changed providers and hired a doula to make sure that I would have all the cards in my favor. I didn't want to risk any interventions if they weren't totally necessary.
And I know this isn't what you asked but my 2 cents: if a c-section is not indicated before I would absolutely try for a vbac. Beyond the stats and the recovery and all that (which are absolutely great reasons and were mine as well), my personal experience was that the vbac was very empowering. -
@Mrs. Lion: Okay, sorry if this gets long, but I really appreciated hearing about vbac experiences when I was deciding so I figured I'd share more info... Background: With DS I had an emergency c-section because I went into labor and he was breech. I progressed to fully dilated in about 4 1/2 hours so we knew that I could labor quickly the second time around and that my body "knew how to dilate". He was in the NICU for 1 week and I recovered very well from the csection which I attribute to having to walk to and from the NICU so much
With DD I was nervous about a vbac because the first OB I saw scared me by saying she's seen babies die from uterine rupture, blah blah blah… I was very worried. My midwife and other OB strongly recommended a vbac because of how my labor was with DS… But they strongly recommended an epidural so that everything would be in place in case anything went wrong. I decided to go for a vbac and also to get an epidural even though it wasn't what I would have preferred. I trusted my midwife and also knew that if something went wrong I wanted my DD to get out safely as quickly as possible and if an epidural would help that go quicker, then that was what I wanted. It did not stall my labor at all but I was also around 7cm when I got it.
Recovery was easier, I was up and around quickly and I remember my MIL being so surprised by how quickly I would get up and down. I was very glad that I could tend to my DS better because of it as well. I did tear and had stitches but I don't remember how many or how bad. Also, I had hemorrhoids afterwards for weeks. That was one of the harder parts of recovery for me but if I took a stool softener it really helped and they cleared up. Again, sorry for the lengthy answer… if you have any other questions feel free to ask! I was so happy with my decision and was glad for a completely different birth experience this time!
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I'm considering a VBAC, so these posts have been very helpful. I'm glad everyone seems to think the VBAC was worth it!
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I would say they were different. My first was an unplanned section. Since it was our first our whole world revolved around him and my husband could focus on caring for the both of us. With my second I had a super fast delivery and didn't have time for an epidural and never took any pain meds after delivery. I did feel more comfortable sitting on a boppy after my vbac and man I had no idea that my lady parts could swell that much. I thought for sure they would never be the same
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@prettylizy: @Baby Boy Mom: @MrsBooks: @shortcake: @lilyann: @creativemomma15: @Canoli: Thank you for sharing! I am a "good candidate" for a vbac but I have been dreading making a decision, as my fear tells me to stick with what I know and have an RCS. I am absolutely terrified of tearing (but somehow not worried at all about being sliced open across my abdomen? explain that one to me...::shrug:: ) and even more terrified about laboring and then having to have a c-section anyway, since those deliveries are much more complicated. I haven't talked to my OB about it since about 12 weeks and I want to ask some questions at my appointment next week, but I am having a hard time vocalizing my fears/questions because they seem so ridiculous.
My first experience was much like @creativemomma15: emergency c-section with a breech baby when my water broke at 34 weeks. It was completely uncomplicated, I healed really quickly (I agree, the running back and forth to the NICU must have helped) so the thought of unknown territory scares me.
Anyway, all of your positive experiences are very helpful to hear! Thank you
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@Mrs. Lion: I changed my mind many times because I also didn't want to try and end up with an emergency c section so all of your thoughts are valid! Thankfully my body made the decision for me. Really I only had contractions for a few hours, got to the hospital at 8 pm, water broke at 10:25pm and he was born at 10:57pm so,I had no time to second guess anything. For me it was true that second labors happen much quicker!
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This is such an encouraging thread, oh my goodness!!!
I have met a couple moms who had bad tearing for their first LO and said subsequent C sections were easier. (So the reverse of these examples.) I find that so hard to believe because my C section recovery sucked so much but I guess it's all relative.
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@mrslion: I know exactly how you feel. Believe me, your OB already knows how you are feeling and what your fears are, she probably talks about this stuff every day! My only advice is, don't feel like you need to make a decision right now. I spent some time before my second pregnancy stressing over this but really there are so many factors at play that it isn't worth worrying about until later your pregnancy. My OB did not want to discuss our plan until 34 weeks. I just loved how we decided to approach it together as taking every step one at a time. And of course tearing sounds awful but it sounds awful for every pregnant woman ever, so you are not alone. I just had a gut feeling that I did not want to choose surgery as my first option. And just to clarify, my first one was breech so I had no clue if I could progress or not on my own. I did, everything worked the way it was supposed to work and I think I had two stitches that I did not think twice about.
Get the conversation started with your doctor and take it one step at a time! Feel free to PM me about VBAC questions any time.
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@Mrs. Lion: I just had a vbac in September! Much happier with my recovery this time! Both types of deliveries I had epidurals, but for both deliveries they didn't work. I had second degree tears this time and while it sucked, I found it still more tolerable than my c/s incision. I was so so so scared to go vbac because it felt easier to do what I already knew. So, I let my body decide. I set a c/s date and if I got to it and no baby then c/s it was. I go into labor on my own before and see how it goes. I'm glad things worked out like they did.
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This is such an upbeat and wonderful thread!
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I'm also stressing on what to do for second..
With LO I labored for 24 hours after being induced, reached 9cm and then got stuck for 4 hours so had a csec. She ended up being "sunny side" which may have caused the stalling.
My recovery was super easy. I was off heavy meds the next day and only took Tylenol for the other days I was in the hospital. Barely felt my scar and I was walking around on day 2.
So I'm anxious...about tearing, ending up with csec anyway, pooping while pushing, etc etc. I'm 22 weeks so I have some time but still...
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